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June 1, 2018

Search for rifles: Russia not in list of 5 selected nations

India has expanded its search for hightech assault rifles, carbines and
small arms for its frontline soldiers, but has excluded its traditional
ally, Russia, from the list of five countries that the Army-led
procurement team plans to visit mid-June.

The team is set to
visit gun manufacturers in the US, Israel and South Korea, and even
countries from where India has never bought military equipment, a
defence ministry official said.

The shortlisted manufacturers include Colt and Sig Sauer of the US and Israel Weapon Industries.

The
manufacturers had expressed their willingness to tie up with India in
their responses to the Request for Proposals (RFPs) for procuring 72,400
assault rifles, 93,895 carbines and other small arms for frontline
troops based under the Fast Track Procedure (FTP). The RFP was given to
12 vendors.

“Russia had also responded positively to the assault
rifle RFP, but it didn’t have the calibre we are looking for, so there’s
no point going there,” explained the official.

The team will be
led by a major-general rank officer and will have representatives from
the Directorate General of Quality Assurance, defence ministry, Army’s
EME (Electronics and Mechanical Engineers) and infantry corps.

These
manufacturers will come to India between July and August for further
tests, and the trial team will try to ensure that demonstrations are
done on a fast-track basis.

An advantage of the FTP is that there
are no lengthy user trials. The FTP also allows procuring equipment
which are in service. After the demonstrations, the lowest bidder (L1)
will be selected for supplying the weapons to the army.